One of the creators explained the reason for Yuumi to become a character for beginners.
Yuumi is a really specific League of Legends heroine. Since her release, she has been hated by a large part of the community – many players believe that she is a character that requires no skills and is simply too easy.
The creators are aware that Yuumi, by her uniqueness, works well in the hands of people who have barely started their adventure with the League and therefore are not familiar with the mechanics or can’t react quickly enough in stressful situations. They are the ones who need a champion that will help them get acquainted with the game and enable them to play with their friends without additional frustration and sadness due to poor statistics.
On the direction of Yuumi’s changes
Riot Phroxzon explained on Twitter why the developers considered Yuumi to be a character aimed mainly at beginner players who don’t yet know if LoL is a game suitable for them. According to the Rioter, the character is great for playing with friends and learning the rules of the League without too much stress.
Wanted to give a bit more context on why we’ve chosen the newer player direction for Yuumi.
At time of writing, Yuumi is in Top 3 most performant champions for true new players [not smurfs], while in Top 20 most popular.
Simultaneously, she’s a top Pro support.
- ALSO – Yuumi’s mains are terrified that Riot’s completely destroyed their character. Developers respond
Yuumi isn’t the best champion to get you on an expedited path to becoming Diamond (and as a coach, I acknowledge she does teach SOME bad habits), but we think she’s best in class for letting new players play with friends and see if they even enjoy playing League to begin with.
People play League for many reasons and having fun with friends is one of the top motivations. We think supporting these players is important.
People play League for many reasons and having fun with friends is one of the top motivations. We think supporting these players is important. But for people who just want to have fun with friends, going 0-10 because you got caught trying to ward as Sona isn’t the most conducive way to having fun
We want better ways for new players to play with high skilled friends without getting turbostomped, but will take some time.
This isn’t to say playing Yuumi should be the only way to have fun as a new player, but we want to support it as one of them. Simultaneously, we don’t think she improves the Pro experience, so we’re trying to move her out with the rework.